Go online to tell the city what you think about parks

Parks Commissioner Nick Fish strolled around Chapman Square Park in downtown Portland today, noting things and writing them down on the back of an envelop.

What kind of trees are these, Fish wondered? These plants, do they come from the city's nursery on Mt. Tabor? Look at these bare patches near the bus stop on Southwest Third Avenue. Is there anything we can do about that? The door on the women's bathroom needs painting.

Then, the commissioner sat down at a table set up in the park for the press event with a laptop computer and began clicking his way from the city's Web site, www.portlandonline.com, to ParkScan.

He typed in his observations.

"As someone who is technologically challenged, it couldn't be easier," Fish said.

The demonstration was designed to launch ParkScan citywide. ParkScan is an interactive Web site that the public can use to share compliments or concerns about city parks. The observations go to a parks maintenance supervisor for action.

"We call it the eyes and ears of our park system," Fish said.

ParkScan is a program of the Neighborhood Parks Council, a San Francisco-based park advocacy group. Portland is the first city to adapt the program for its own use. The program was developed with a $150,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The concept was tested during a four-month pilot project in 36 East Portland parks.

To see the program in action, and find out how to participate, click on www.parkscanPDX.org/tutorial.